Kimberly Cole’s ‘The Prelude’ EP: Idolator Premiere

You should already know and love Kimberly Cole because of her bottle breakin’, elbow swingin’ ode to roughin’ up haters-turned-Bad Girls Club anthem, “Smack You.”

Or, perhaps you’ve broken a sweat on a dance floor to one of her various Billboard club hits over the past few years, including 2011’s “Arrow Through My Heart” and 2012’s tongue-twisting “U Make Me Wanna” with Eddie Amador and Garza.

But a new year means a new beginning, which brings us to the The Prelude EP, which we’re premiering exclusively at Idolator today.

The 6-track collection, which was produced by Jean-Yves Ducornet, signals a stylistic shift for the pop princess, serving up massive pop hooks above pulverizing dubstep and gritty electronic textures. There’s plenty of bass-heavy bangers to chew on, including the reggae-leaning “Found Better” and “Cruel.” Not that she’s lost her sense of sass, mercifully: “Sorry, but I’m fresh out of fucks today!” she cockily declares on the sauntering kiss-off track, “Wind Up Dead.”

The biggest surprises here, though, are the more vulnerable moments, including the aching power ballad “Heart I Didn’t Break.” And then, there’s “Let Me Go” and “Everything,” which are not only slickly crafted slices of emotional dance-pop (Wynter Gordon‘s With The Music I Die also comes to mind), but proof that behind all that smack talk, Kimberly’s actually got a fantastic voice.

Judging by what we’re hearing, The Prelude EP is only the beginning of what should be a very exciting year for Miss Cole.